House Of Metamorphosis
by The Throne
Summary: When the Anubis House residents develop super human abilities, life becomes a struggle of good versus evil. The good and evil inside themselves. Callab with raenbc!
1. Chapter 1

_**So, this is a collab! I'm writing with the awesome raenbc! She's Amazing! A really great writer. You **_**have**_** to read House of Switched, it's so good. So this is our story. I thought of writing together, she thought of the brilliant plot, and I think you will fall in love with this story. I have!**_

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"Okay, class." Jason said, as he looked around the room. The Anubis house residents had drama class with those in Horus house. The Horus house kids were rather shy and quiet. A major contrast to their classmates. The majority of them were boys, and most were considered dorks or geeks. Including Amelia Pinches.

She couldn't have been happier to be in a class with Alfie Lewis, Anubis house's resident goofball. He made a joke that had the whole room laughing, but she didn't hear it. She was too busy staring at him.

Alfie looked so handsome in his uniform. His new hair cut looked amazing on him. His big brown eyes were glistening as he smiled. Amelia sighed, silently wishing he would notice her.

He looked her way and Amelia's heart skipped. She beamed, and the force of her smile had her face hurting. To her surprise, he seemed to be trying to outdo her with the size of his grin.

Amelia was just about to wave when Amber brushed past her, taking a seat next to Alfie. Amelia's face dropped when she realized he'd been smiling at Amber the entire time.

Alfie wrapped one of his strong arms around the blonde, and she leaned her head on his shoulder. Amelia knew she'd give anything to be in Amber's place.

"Sorry I'm late, Mr. Winkler" Amber said with her signature smile, in hopes that it would get her out of detention.

"It's fine; just don't do it again." Jason answered.

Amelia huffed. She could never get away with that. Amber had everything. And she didn't even have to try. It was as if it all just fell in her lap if she whined enough. The money, the looks, and most of all, the boyfriend.

Amelia just couldn't understand why he nominated her for school rep two years ago. Sure, it was a while ago, but he nominated her, not Amber. That had to count for something.

Alfie was definitely into looks. He had a crush on Amber after all. If she looked as good as Amber did, Amelia would have her chance. He'd be sure to dump that bottle blonde and go for her instead.

"As I was saying," Jason continued. "We will be doing a trust activity. It has come to my attention that there's been some tension in both your houses."

That wasn't a lie. The kids in Horus house were fighting because there was a dispute about who was smartest. The Anubis house residents, however, were fighting over rooms. At least, the girls were. Joy, Mara and Patricia all agreed it was crowded in their room, and one of them should sleep in the attic. But none of them volunteered. Naturally, Jerome and Eddie were on their girlfriends' sides. This didn't discourage Joy, though. Fabian felt bad for Joy and-with Nina's permission-tried to help Joy stay in the room. Jerome got angry with Alfie for not defending Mara, with the logic that she was his best friend's girlfriend. Amber was mad at Jerome for being mad at Alfie. And considering Mara had agreed to go out with Jerome before officially breaking it off with Mick the previous school year, the tension between those two boys was greater than ever.

"So what are you going to make us do?" Jerome asked flatly, clearly not up for the assignment.

"Well Jerome, who is getting on your nerves right now?" Jason replied, putting it bluntly.

"Easy, Alfie and Campbell." Jerome supplied.

"And Alfie?"

"Jerome." Alfie mumbled.

"Me too." Amber agreed. The class went on until both houses were lined up, next to whoever they were most annoyed with. Jason took out nine pieces of rope and proceeded to tie the ropes as comfortable as possible so that Eddie, Fabian, Joy, Patricia, Mara, Mick, Jerome, Alfie, Amber, and Nina were all attached at the wrist. Much to their chagrin.

"And... how long do we have to stay like this?" Mara asked, not liking her position at all.

"Just until our next class." Jason assured them, wondering if they could even survive that. And with that, class was dismissed. Having Mara next to Mick was so natural to him. And with their hands so close, he grabbed her hand without even thinking about. Mara awkwardly tried to pull away and Mick realized what he was doing and let go immediately. Jerome didn't let this go unnoticed. He pinched Mick's hand.

"Ow!" Mick exclaimed.

"Can there not be a fight while I'm attached to you guys?" Nina asked, sounding even more frustrated than she was to begin with.

"Maybe there wouldn't be, if Winkler hadn't attached my wrist to these two morons." Jerome said through gritted teeth, holding up his writs. In response, Alfie bent his arm backwards. Amber and Mick shared a laugh as Jerome struggled to stop the pain.

"Alfie, stop it!" Mara ordered worriedly. Alfie complied, and Jerome didn't hesitate to whack him on the head.

"Hey!" Alfie said, making Nina groan. She was sick of the fighting. Fabian was the only one who could calm her when she was tense like this, and he was on the other side of the long line.

"Maybe we should all take a walk." Mara suggested. Anything to help everyone cool off.

"We're walking now." Eddie said.

"I mean a walk around campus or something" said Mara, pausing. No one was prepared for her to do that, and they stumbled, barely managing to keep their footing.

"Why don't you keep walking now?" Joy said, pulling her and the others along.

"Ouch! Don't be so rough." Mara said, rubbing her wrist.

"So now are we getting physical?" Jerome asked defensively. Considering what he'd done to Mick, minor as it was, that sounded hypocritical.

"Well, to be perfectly fair, Mara can't just stop walking if she's attached to other people." Fabian reasoned, in light of what had happened when she did.

"Thank you!" Joy said as the house came into view.

"To be perfectly fair," Jerome mocked, "No one asked for your opinion."

"The only reason you said anything is to defend Joy." Patricia said, though no one was exactly sure why.

"Can we just hurry up and get there? I'm hungry, and people are walking so slow." Eddie complained, trying his best to direct a glance at Fabian, Mara, Alfie, and Amber. The four of them were strolling, at the most.

"Everyone stop fighting!" Nina yelled, making the others look at her. "The point of this activity was to stop us from fighting."

"Well it's stupid." Patricia said

"Yeah." Eddie agreed. "If I weren't mad at them, I would be after having them stuck to my wrist."

"I think Mara is right, we should take a walk." Nina decided. "Don't you think that would be better than trying to function in the house with nine other people attached?" The others silently agreed. They walked past the house and were headed back toward the campus when Mara saw something out of the corner of her eye. It was blue and shimmering.

She couldn't resist stopping to pick it up.

Sadly, this created a chain reaction and everyone fell. Alfie, Amber, and Nina were extremely unlucky, and found themselves in the mud. Alfie and Nina, though upset, could handle a little mud. Amber however, was furious.

Fabian was about to go and help Nina clean up when Eddie stopped him.

"You're attached to other people, you can't just walk." He said. Fabian gave his girlfriend a sympathetic smile instead, since that was all he could offer. Amber got up, grabbing a handful of mud in the process. Mara was actually scared as she stomped over dragging the others with her.

"Look. At. Me." Amber said.

"I just wanted to-" Mara started.

"LOOK AT ME!" Amber screamed. "You can't decide it's a good idea to walk and then just stop when nine other people are attached to your wrist!"

"I'm sorry-" she was cut off by a handful of mud hitting her face.

"Control your girlfriend!" Jerome ordered Alfie, wide-eyed.

"I would, but she's right." Alfie said, doing his best to clean the mud off of himself.

"So you'll back up your girlfriend but not your best friend?" Jerome asked. "What goes on between your girlfriend and her roommates has nothing to do with me!" Alfie said.

"I think everyone needs to calm down." Fabian said. "I think what we need is a calm, cool environment where everyone can relax. Does anybody know a spot?"

Though the two were fighting, Alfie and Jerome shared a thought and exchanged a glance. Jerome shook his head slightly. Alfie nodded. Jerome mouthed 'no', making Alfie roll his eyes.

"I know a place." Alfie said, sounding almost happy.

"No, Alfie" Jerome warned.

"We barely go there, why not share it with our housemates?" Alfie asked.

"Fine." Jerome reluctantly submitted, making his best friend smile self-righteously. Alfie led the pack through the forest, past the clearing where Sibuna met last year and the year before. It was quite a walk and to some felt like it went on for years. Patricia was getting annoyed, as was Joy.

"How far is it?" Patricia and Joy asked in unison. The two looked at each other and laughed slightly.

"How about not being so impatient?" Mara answered. "It's got to be close."

"We've been walking for ages!" Patricia said.

"We've been walking for thirty minutes, maximum." Alfie said. The two girls groaned.

"Besides, it's right past this tree." Jerome told them. Which is when a hint of shimmering blue was seen through the trees, as the group walked toward a big lake. It was perfectly blue and surrounded by trees. It dropped like a small cliff about five feet tall and had to be at least fifty feet wide.

"Wow, it's beautiful." Nina marveled.

The housemates sat on the edge of the lake. Some skipped rocks, others just relaxed. It was the first time they didn't fight in two weeks. When she was sure the tension was gone, at least for the time being, Mara pulled the rock she'd found out of her pocket. She examined it better. It almost looked like some kind of blue shiny liquid in a round glass container. But it was most definitely a stone.

"Look at this." Mara said to the others, holding it out for them to see. She smiled as it glowed a little in the evening light. No doubt Victor would be mad at the lot for being out after eight. But they didn't care, at least not at the moment. The others looked at the shimmering rock, captivated by it. It seemed to be magical.

"It looks like a rock that came from… another world." Fabian-of all people-said.

"Like an alien rock?" Alfie asked. He hadn't said much about aliens lately, but this rock did look like one from another planet.

"It looks like the ocean." Mick said. "In a rock."

"You know, it kind of does." Eddie agreed. At that moment, Patricia scratched her head. This wouldn't have been a big deal if they weren't all attached. The movement made Mara drop the rock and it went tumbling down into the water.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Patricia said. Mara pouted, but she was sick of fighting. So she simply nodded.

"I think we should walk back now." Fabian said. Eddie led them up the hill as they followed in a single file line, seeing as that was most likely the easiest way to travel in their situation.

Nina was the first to notice the lake begin to bubble.

"Uh, guys" she said, trying to curb her confusion and panic. "The water is… uh, boiling"

"What?" Mick asked, not sure he'd heard right. The others headed back to the lake to see that it was in fact boiling.

"That's not natural." Mara said, though they all were aware. The lake began to glow a neon blue that almost hurt their eyes. Despite this, they couldn't look away. It was enchanting. Fabian inched closer to it. He'd seen a lot of unusual things. He was sure that if it were two years ago, he would be doing what Mara was doing at the moment: trying to find the logical explanation for what was happening. As he got a little closer, he slipped and fell down into the water. He brought one after the other of Anubis house residents down with him. In the blink of an eye, everyone was in the water. However, it's very hard to swim when being attached to nine others. Especially if one of them couldn't swim.

Mara had always stayed out of the water. She simply splashed her feet in the pool as a child, and even as a teenager.

She tried copying what others around her were doing, but she couldn't get to the top. So as she started to sink, they all did. She knew that with her holding them back, they would never make it to the top. She could see a few of them struggling to hold their breath, but they weren't fish, and they needed air soon. She then focused on untying to ropes.

Mick and Patricia felt something on their wrists, but before they could stop her, Mara set themfree and slowly sank.

They began to panic as they tugged the others for help. They swam towards Mara as she shook her head and pointed to the surface. Amber self-consciously breathed and choked on water. She couldn't be under for much longer. Alfie and Nina saw this and tried to help her untie the ropes as she choked, but because of their state of panic and the fact that they were being pulled deeper and deeper down by the others who were trying to help Mara, the task seemed impossible.

Then, Amber's eyes seemed to go blank and her mouth opened slightly. Alfie and Nina began to panic more as they untied to ropes. They pointed to the top but she wasn't moving. Mara was next. She saw the group rushing to her with Jerome leading them, but then the world around her faded away.

Alfie and Nina watched Amber's lifeless body sink to the bottom. Nina cried in horror at the blank look on her best friend's face. She could have swam to the surface, but the lack of oxygen and the loss of her best friend caused her to not think straight.

She swam toward Alfie as he was being dragged down by Jerome heading for Mara and undid his rope. She helped him towards Amber and the two held her hand. Alfie saw Amber's face last before he saw nothing at all. Nina was lightheaded by now. She knew Alfie wasn't with her anymore. She looked up, the surface seemed so far away, like a land of make believe. It was then Fabian saw Nina, Alfie, and Amber. Mick and Jerome finally reached Mara and they worked together to try to bring her body to the top, not yet giving up on her. But they were both losing oxygen and were running out of energy as they swam, and would most likely not make it up themselves. Fabian pointed to the trio on the side sinking together.

Eddie knew he needed to get Patricia and himself to the top, so he unattached himself, as did Patricia. The two swam to the top together. Joy and Fabian swam to Nina, Alfie, and Amber. Fabian looked at Alfie and Amber and then at Nina. She kissed him quickly with the little energy she had left. Soon her hands floated down to her sides, and her body went numb. Fabian grabbed her and tried to shake her awake, to no avail. Joy brushed past him and to the bottom of the lake. Fabian didn't move. He just watched Nina, Joy, Alfie, and Amber sink and lay on the surface. And soon felt himself do the same, though he wasn't dead, yet.

Mick felt himself grow weaker and his head began to spin. Jerome felt the same way but kept going. Mick let go and began to sink. Jerome was about fifteen feet away from the surface, and swam as fast as he could. That was the moment he felt himself choke on water and gasped for air. Patricia and Eddie weren't far behind, and saw Jerome become still. By now they were both crying. Fabian watched his classmates sink and hoped that Patricia and Eddie would make it before everything went black.

Suddenly, Patricia felt a strong push towards the top as she saw Eddie fall. She refused to leave him and swam back to him. But it was too late. And Patricia gave up.

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Amber was the first to wake up in her bed coughing, choking and soaking wet. Then Mara, Alfie, Joy, Nina, Mick, Jerome, Fabian, Eddie, and finally Patricia. They all rushed out to the living room. All were wearing the same clothes they had been in when they fell in.

"What happened?" Mara asked.

"I-I remember everyone trying to get Mara." Amber said. "Then I blacked out."

"I saw you d-" Alfie couldn't finish the sentence. The look on Amber's face in the water haunted him. It would be his next one hundred nightmares, as well as Nina's. She looked at him, and just nodded.

"I saw you guys swimming towards me. I saw Amber choke and she started to…" Mara said.

"What?! What happened?" Amber said, frustrated with everyone not finishing their sentences.

"Sink." Joy finished for Mara, in a sharp whisper. "You died."

"No I didn't, I couldn't have." Amber said.

"You were dead, Amber" Fabian said. "You all were. I saw all of you die, except for Patricia and Eddie."

"You made it." Eddie said. "I pushed you up."

"I went back for you." Patricia told him.

"Why would you do that?" Eddie asked, angrily.

"It doesn't matter! We're all somehow alive." Patricia said, managing a hint of a smile.

"Are we?" Jerome couldn't help countering.

"What do you mean?" Mick asked

"How the heck would we be alive if we all died?" Jerome questioned.

Mara felt something in her pocket. She took it out to discover it was the rock. The others stared at it.

"Where have you been?" Victor demanded, coming in with Trudy. Mara rushed to put the rock away.

"Why are you all wet?" Trudy asked worriedly, as she saw that most of them were shivering.

"Uh, water balloon fight." Jerome said. Trudy rushed to the laundry room to get towels.

"You could get sick" she said when she returned.

"You were out past curfew, you were having a fight-" Victor began angrily.

"A water balloon fight, it's not the same" Alfie clarified.

"Trudy where are my toothbrushes?" Victor asked, making the others groan. Nina was shaking like a Chihuahua and Fabian wrapped his arms around her for comfort and warmth.

Strange happenings seemed to be a staple in Anubis house, as if without them the place couldn't stand. Despite the lumps in their throats, the pits in their stomachs and the tears in their eyes, the kids had to accept that and move on.

Everyone was tired from cleaning the toilets around the school inch by inch with toothbrushes. But no one thought that would do any good helping them sleep. Nightmares threatened, and the kids fought to keep their eyes open. They would lie in their beds, stunned silent and staring at the ceiling.

Alfie had seen Amber's usually smiling face turn blank, empty, hollow. He needed to leave the stuffy room. Jerome saw him leave, but was in his own world at the moment and didn't react.

Amber found herself in the kitchen at some time past midnight. She stumbled there for a drink of water, and as she stood in front of the sink, sipping from her half full glass, she laughed at the harsh irony. Hours ago, she and her housemates would do anything to get away from the water. But she needed it to quench her thirst and soothe her sore throat.

Her ears perked up when she heard what sounded like claws scraping against the hardwood floor. She shook off the thought, sure that it could only be in her head.

"Amber!" The sharp whisper came from her boyfriend, but she turned around to see a Basenji puppy where she expected to find Alfie. She forced herself to blink, to try and clear her vision. Then she looked around, still trying to locate Alfie. Though she was more confused about the dog-sitting there still as a stone-rather than wherever he happened to be.

"Whose dog is this?" She asked, not expecting to get an answer. But she got one.

"I'm nobody's dog." Rang the semi-snappy reply. It was a soft spot for Alfie seeing as two years ago he was Jerome's dog, and Amber's lost puppy.

The glass in Amber's hand dropped to the floor, spilling whatever water was left in it. Alfie stepped back and tried to wipe the water off of his face like the human he was, instead of shake it off like a dog. The glass cracked but did not shatter. If Amber could breathe, she would've sighed with relief since the sound wasn't loud enough to wake anyone. Disregarding it, she slowly stepped closer to the dog, whose eyes locked on her in the darkness. They were still the deep dark brown that she loved. Though his body was canine, his eyes were human. Amber choked out a question, trying to prepare herself for the impossible answer. "Alfie... is that you?"

The dog's mouth opened just enough for a small whimper. Though, what Amber heard was: "Sort of..."

"Wha-" Suddenly her throat was dry again. "Am I dreaming?"

"I hope so." Alfie said. Panicked, he added: "I don't know how to change back!"

"Well think of the bright side! No classes tomorrow!" Alfie growled at her. "How did you… How did this happen?" She asked, just puzzled and scared as he was.

"I don't know."

_**So, review! Favorite! Fallow, and thanks to anyone who read! And don't forget to read House Of Switched! Also if anyone has questions for Raenbc, type in the name and PM her.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**_A special thank you to LuvFiction Xxxx, MoriartyandHisTardis, ivybominable647, bigbenn1000, Egyptian Warrior. Your reviews meant a lot to both me and raenbc. We hope all of you enjoy the chapter. We worked hard on it. See if you can guess what their powers are. And to any other Seddie shippers who watched iCarly today, I know._**

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Sleep was now either a miracle, or a trap. Mara wasn't sure if she wanted it or not. It might only bring nightmares. Though she knew she would have to sleep eventually, as everyone does, she didn't want to have to think about it. Whether she slept or not, the memories could haunt her.

She had to get up. If only to prove that was still possible. She'd made it out alive. But she wasn't herself. And she knew it would take awhile to get back to that. To calm her nerves, she thought about how to fix a problem that wouldn't ease with time. The room situation.

Mara made her way to the attic, which she decided would be her new room. For some reason, realizing she was the logical choice put a smile on her face. Patricia and Joy were best friends, after all. And being split up once had been enough.

The closer Mara got to her new room, the further away she felt from her housemates, even though some of them were just down the hallway. Compared to their near-death experience, this was a fairly simple change in their lives. Which is why Mara couldn't figure out what was so hard about it.

With her flashlight in hand, she thought about the first time she'd been so close to the attic. For Nina's initiation two years ago, that she'd let go on even though she thought it was wrong. This was another instance where she went against her gut feeling. She used a hair pin to open the door, not wanting to waste any time.

She didn't expect more chilling memories to be waiting for her inside. But she brought a shaking hand to her cheek, hearing the echo of Vera's threatening words in her ear. She started having second thoughts about moving into the attic, but ignored them the way she did all of her memories of Vera. If she could manage to cope with nearly drowning, a change of scenery should be no sweat. She reminded herself to be brave, even though loneliness and something close to claustrophobia were working together to drive her out of the attic. She would stand her ground.

She took in every inch of the attic from where she stood in the middle. It had been completely cleared out since Vera's disappearance, but it didn't feel empty.

The weight of something unknown settled on Mara's shoulders, and soon whatever energy she'd managed to have was gone. To avoid falling over, she leaned one shaky hand against a wall. The space behind it seemed hollow, as if it was hiding something. She wasn't interested in what, with the feeling of exhaustion that had taken over her.

A crashing sound startled her to the point where she nearly fell over. Mara took shallow, silent breaths as she looked around for the source of the sound. The was nothing in the attic that could fall over. She tried to tell herself the noise must have come from downstairs, though she didn't believe that. It seemed so close. Mara tried to focus her thoughts on what she should be doing once she regained her strength: map out where her belongings would go in her new room. But another sound distracted her.

"What are you playing at?!" Victor barked from behind. She turned-trying to make sense of the words-to find nobody there.

That was something scream worthy, but she willed herself to stay quiet, trying to sort out what was going on. The words seemed familiar to her, like she'd heard them before. But she decided that Victor was an expert at yelling and his rants were just etched in her brain after so long. No wonder they sounded real.

"I can't believe you're having an Anubis midnight reunion and you didn't invite us." Those words of disappointment belong to Joy, but she was nowhere in sight either. Mara was getting sick of the way her mind was wandering. She wanted her thoughts to quiet down.

Her thoughts did not comply. "Guess he found out he wasn't immortal the hard way." Fabian's tone was rather casual, but the words hurt. _Immortal_. That made the least sense to Mara so far. Yet, she and her housemates had drowned, and lived not to tell the tale.

She almost wanted to ask who this immortal being was more than she wanted to stop feeling like she was losing her mind. Her curiosity found a way to keep her calm. But she didn't expect an answer. Not then.

"Well, he needs his beauty sleep. He is 101." Amber's words only rose more questions for Mara. She decided she was dreaming, and would rather this than any drowning-inspired nightmare. The sound of the laughter that followed seemed to mock that idea.

Nina's voice was heard next. "Victor Rodenmaar Jr., son of the late Victor Rodenmaar Sr., has founded a new school at the Anubis estate." That was news to Mara. The first words that actually seemed factual since she stepped foot in the attic.

The comfort of factual information didn't last long. Not when haunting words from a voice Mara didn't recognize were heard. "I don't want to stay here. I'm frightened of what will happen to me." She could relate to the young girl. She agreed with that. But she couldn't bring herself to move.

The blood-curdling screech that followed made Mara's ears ring and her eyes water. She changed her mind. This was worse than any nightmare about drowning again she could have. This felt too real.

"It sounded like a voice." This was Fabian again. Mara didn't think her friend sounded nearly as scared as she felt. Nina's next line sent chills down her body.

"Yeah, a voice, or a moan. A death bed moan...of someone who really doesn't want to die." Mara had to remind herself to breathe.

Nina spoke up again, sooner than Mara expected. She had at least been given a break before, between each haunting voice. But now the talk was getting faster. And louder. And closer. "Sarah was so secretive."

"Let me OUT!" Nina's voice begged. This rattled Mara more than anything else. She remembered that. She'd been there, at Nina's initiation. And now it felt like it was happening all over again. "I know _nothing_!" Mara was beginning to feel the same way. Clueless.

The words began repeating, the voices overlapping. She heard cries of fright and racing hearts. Whispers and screams. The noises crowded her. Surrounded her. Attempted to suffocate her. Until she couldn't take it anymore. With tears spilling from her eyes, Mara ran from the attic as quickly as her feet could carry her. Not stopping until the voices did.

Her feet led her to her old room as she burst through the door and sat on her old, empty bed.

"Mara where's the fire?" Patricia asked.

"Uh, no fire." Mara said quickly, wiping her eyes so her old roommates wouldn't see. "I'm just gonna sleep in here for one more night."

"Why?" Joy asked.

"Are you scared or something?" Patricia added. No answer.

"Oh toughen up!" Joy told Mara. "You wanted to sleep in the attic."

"No one wants to sleep in the attic!" Mara said. "I only offered because I was sick of this dumb fight!"

"Well you offered, and I always thought you were a woman of your word." Patricia said. "So go ahead and sleep up there."

"No one forced you up there" Joy pointed out.

"YOU FORCING ME UP THERE _RIGHT NOW_!" Mara screamed.

"Shut up!" Nina yelled groggily in the doorway. She stomped off in the direction of her room.

"It's one night." Mara said. "I think you can deal with that."

"Whatever." Patricia said.

In the morning, Jerome walked to the school with Mara looking restless. As did everyone else. He didn't even notice that Alfie was missing this morning. And once Trudy pointed out his absence, Amber had come up with a quick excuse that he was too exhausted to question. Their first class was Jason's. Oh boy.

The Anubis residents filed separately into the classroom, ignoring the disappointed look on Jason's face, and quietly sat. Moments later, the other house came in, still very tied together, with large smiles on their faces. It made the Anubis kids sick.

"Very good Horus House." Jason marveled.

"Once we realized we weren't going to survive this assignment without cooperation, we worked through our difficulties and in the end became a house united." Claire, a girl from the house, told him.

"That's exactly what I wanted." Jason said, satisfied with their work. He then looked in the direction of the Anubis house residents. "So, what happened with you guys?"

Most of the Anubians wanted nothing more to do with the project, seeing as it was the main reason they were in the mess. A very unexpected person spoke up about that.

"The project was stupid." Mara said. It was very out of character for her. Maybe the stress was really getting to her. Or maybe she was just spending too much time with Jerome. "It only caused problems."

"I agree with that statement." Fabian said. "It gave me a massive headache, and seemed to cause us to fight more."

"So you untied the ropes?" Jason asked. He got no answer. "Well I hope you realize that's a zero for all ten of you... Where's Alfie?"

"Oh, he's sick. He stayed behind at the house." Amber responded quickly. Any question on Alfie's absence seemed to be the only reason she would speak. Jerome however was worried now. He knew she was lying. At the house when Trudy asked, she told them all that Mr. Sweet asked him to go to the school early. As odd as that seemed, Jerome figured Alfie was about to get lectured for some prank. Now Amber was telling them he never went to school.

"Well, I hope he feels better. And you can deliver the message that he, as well as the rest of you, have failed the assignment." Jason said. Amber then went back to being in her own little world. Although it was different this time. Usually when Amber went into Amber world, she would have a slight smile as she twirled her hair. Jerome noted the worried, confused, and focused look on her face.

Once they were dismissed, Jerome ran to catch up with Amber and question her on his best friend. Which is when a different blonde came in front of him. Alyssa.

"Not now Alyssa." Jerome said.

"What's wrong Jerome?" Alyssa teased with fake sympathy. "You look worse than usual."

"What do you want?" Jerome asked, annoyed.

"Why would I want anything?"

"If you don't want anything then please move." Jerome was losing the little patience he had for Alyssa.

"What's going on here?" Mara asked as she walked to the two.

"No one asked you, you little pipsqueak slut." Alyssa spat at her.

"Alyssa, back off or I swear I'll-" Jerome huffed.

"You'll what? Are you gonna hit me?" Alyssa asked, not sounded the least bit fazed. "Then you'll get expelled, and no one will be able to bail you out, because everyone will know you're guilty."

"Jail jokes? Real mature, Alyssa." Mara said

"Who said anything about jail?" Alyssa smirked. With that she walked to her locker and began to put in her combination.

"Don't pay her any attention." Mara said soothingly. But Jerome didn't hear a word. He was pissed, just like he always was when Alyssa was around. Mara didn't notice the locker shake, and rock back and forth, as she tried to calm Jerome down. Alyssa did, and she backed away slowly, as it fell right in front of her. It missed her by an inch.

She screamed and ran to her boyfriend with tears running down her face. Mara stood wide eyed, and Jerome didn't have time to feel shocked, because as soon as the locker fell he had an agonizing headache and a nose bleed.

"I-I have to go to Trudy" Jerome said.

"I'll walk with you" Mara replied as the two of them slowly went from the school.

As Jerome got settled on his bed, he suddenly felt exhausted. He did not like losing sleep, but last night, not a soul was rested in the house. Just when he was about to fall into slumber, there was scratching on the hardwood floor, and a small dog came out from under the bed.

To say that Jerome was confused was like saying Rufus was just a tiny bit not right in the head. The dog seemed to have a staring contest with him. Before he let out a quiet whimper, as if trying to communicate with Jerome.

Jerome considered reporting the animal to Victor, but decided against it. He figured Victor would find a way to blame it all on him, and he'd be stuck cleaning toilets. Besides, though it was weak and weird, he liked the dog. That was quite a shocking discovery for himself, because Jerome had never been a dog person. The dog gave him a sad look before retreating back under Alfie's bed.

As Jerome fell into sleep, his dreams quickly turned into nightmares.

_Don't give up_ He told himself as he became light headed.  
_She's still alive_. He chanted in his head, when taking Mara in his arms and turning to swim up.  
_Get her to the surface_  
But the surface was gone, and he was swimming in place.

Jerome awoke with a start, and he knocked over the table lamp next to his bed. This was odd seeing as Jerome didn't touch it...

The sound of the lamp dropping awoke Alfie in his bed.

"What the-" he said, startled. Then he began to feel his body, with a delighted smile.

"Alfie?" Jerome asked. "When did you get here?"

"Uh, I was here the whole time." Alfie responded. He began to put on his uniform on.

"What are you doing?" Jerome asked.

"I'm going to go to school."

"Why do you want to go there?"

"I need some normalcy in my life right now" Alfie replied. He headed down the hall to the door and walked out without being seen.

He made a detour to his locker for a textbook, to find some lockers on the ground. He stared at the strange sight for a short moment, then went to his class and walked in.

"Alfie?" Mrs. Robinson asked.

"Uh sorry I'm late. I was..." He looked over to Amber who mouthed 'sick' to him. "Sick."

"Do you feel better?" Mrs. Robinson asked.

_Better? Not exactly._ "I feel fine enough for class." Alfie responded.

"Take a seat." Mrs. Robinson told him.

"Okay." The only seats left available were in the back. So Amber took out her phone. After a few  
messages were exchanged, Mrs. Robinson caught them.

"Amber, Alfie" Mrs. Robinson said making them jump and try to hide their phones. "To the front of the classroom." She commanded.

They walked to the front of the class with scared looks.

"Read your messages." Mrs. Robinson said sternly. She expected it to be the regular teenage love fest that was exchanged between teenagers.

"No, Mrs. Robinson-" Alfie protested.

"Now."

Amber looked to Alfie before reading. "So you're back to normal."

"Yeah, but Jerome couldn't understand me." Alfie read.

"Really? How come I can?" Amber said.

"I don't know."

"How did you get back to normal?" Amber asked.

"I just took a nap, and woke up feeling normal."As odd as the conversation was, Mrs. Robinson figured they were talking about Alfie's illness.

"At least you can sleep."

"Barely." Alfie said. "I had nightmares"

"Nightmares?" Amber stumbled through the text the way her thumbs had when typing it.

"About you d-" Alfie cut himself off and closed his phone.

"Speak up." Mrs. Robinson said.

"Drowning. I had nightmares about her drowning." This certainly woke up the kids, especially anyone living in the Anubis house. The room stayed silent and Mrs. Robinson suddenly felt guilty.

"I'm getting air." Amber announced, leaving the classroom. She never came back to that class. Once all classes were finished, Nina went where she always went when she was upset or stressed: The music room.


	3. Chapter 3

**Merry Christmas! I hope you like this chapter! A special thanks to:**

_**TooLazyTooLogin **_**(Nice guess by the way!)**  
_**Anna Bliss aka Ivy B**_  
_**Mrs. Amneris**_  
_**dessynaynay22**_

**Oh, and check out the trailer I made for this! Just look up my name (SeddieFTW777) on Youtube, look at my videos, and it should be there!**

**Ok, enjoy!**

* * *

Music had been a passion for Nina's parents. They had never sang on a professional level, but it was something they loved all their lives. The two met while going to mail letters, singing the same song as they walked to the mailbox. Oddly, they had no harmony at all. Their voices clashed with each other, and they ended up embarrassing themselves. But soon, they were red in the face from laughing. And the words that spilled from their mouths were no longer lyrics, but small talk that turned into a full blown conversation.

Nina had a feeling they wouldn't have even noticed each other if it hadn't been for that song. If not for that song, she wouldn't be here.

Singing always helped her relieve some stress, and she was in serious need of that.

The music room was empty. Had it not been, Nina may have just walked right past it. If her comfort zone was an actual place, this would be it. To take away privacy from the situation, left her with nowhere to go. People in Anubis house were always listening. That was part of the reason Sibuna did so much whispering.

With a deep breath, Nina closed her eyes. It took some of the pressure off that way, though she never knew why. She also didn't understand why she always felt scared to sing even when no one was there to hear it. It may have had something to do with how the voice in her head sounded different. Better, clearer, more confident, more free. That was the voice she wanted people to hear, if she ever got up the courage to let them listen.

The first note came out exactly the way she'd hoped. The way it was in her head. The way she wanted it to sound out loud. As did the other notes that followed. The fear had vanished. Her voice sounded new.

Even when she got the feeling she was being watched, she couldn't stop. Not with the worry that her new voice would leave her, and her new confidence would go with it.

The new power in her voice drove her to try higher and lower notes than she was used to. She hit them as if she'd been singing that way for years. Her eyes sparkled in astonishment. That should've been impossible. The smile that spread across her face told her not to think about it.

A rest was filled in by someone clapping. The sound was dissonant and almost contrived. As if someone was pushing the person's hands together.

Nina turned around as quickly as her mouth had shut. She looked the awestruck boy in the face, and felt like she recognized him. She couldn't say so-or anything else-being that she was mortified.

"I think I'm in love." Any hope of finding words was lost when he told her that. Her expression switched from bewilderment to confusion in a blink.

Why would he something like that? Nina knew her voice had improved, but was it really so special?

She thought she should at least tell him she was flattered, but also taken. He didn't let her have that chance.

His own look of puzzlement graced his face. His next words weren't exactly a compliment. They were more of an observation. His eyes-that had seemed to be stuck on her-shifted "This isn't the gym." Nina was even more confused than before. "Sorry for interrupting. Go back to whatever you were doing." With that, the boy ran off.

Whatever you were doing? Nina's thought echoed questioningly. It was like he'd forgotten what he heard. It was like he hadn't heard anything in the first place. It was... "Weird." Nina's stress was gone, but her confusion lingered. As she left the music room, she wondered what it would take to get rid of that feeling.

Amber sat on a stump, surrounded by trees. Why was she in the woods? It had always been a peaceful place for her. She always liked it when Sibuna met here. She always made excuses to be here. But why? It is the opposite of what people think of her. Maybe because it was relaxing. A day at the mall is far from that. She has to keep up with the trends and buy the right items. She had to carry loads of bags, she was surprised she wasn't stronger.

Oh wait!

Alfie carries the bags. No wonder his arms felt bigger lately. He should thank her, instead of complaining all of the time. Anyway, trying on clothes. Getting frustrated when something doesn't fit. It's hard work.. Plus, she was always forced, more than anyone else, to look her best. If she doesn't, she's not Amber. Here, no one was there to judge her on what she looked like. Except for the animals.

Suddenly, the sound of rustling in the leaves began to perk her ears up. She turned to see a small squirrel.

"Aw, how cute!" She said looking at the little animal and coming closer to it. The squirrel kind of hissed at her. "Don't be scared"

She didn't notice her reaction, and how strange it was. Normally, if any animal hissed at her, she would've ran away. But she just went closer. She somehow knew that the animal meant no harm, and just wanted to scare her.

The squirrel, for whatever reason, didn't climb the tree next to him, to get away. He let this strange, almost hairless animal come closer to him.

Amber scooped the little animal up. She had never touched a squirrel before. They always run away. A pigeon landed by her and she stroked it's feathers.

"Why can't I be more like you guys?" She asked. "No school, no tests, no worries. Just free"

The pigeon turned it's head, with what seemed to be sympathy.

"You guys are really good listeners" she said. She began to notice the amount of animals that were crowding around her. She smiled. It made her feel like the center of attention.

"I feel like those disney princesses who make friends with animals" Amber giggled. She then began to hum, and almost expected the birds to sing back. She then said in a sing-songy voice: "Someday my prince will come"

"Amber!" Alfie said running to her. He backed up at the sight of all the animals.

"Hi Alfie!" Amber said. She giggled at his perfect timing, and a bit at his precocious demeanor at the sight of the animals.

"Uh Nina, I found her" he called behind himself. Moments later Nina came up behind him.

"Um Amber, do you realize that you are surrounded by about two dozen animals?" Nina asked. Both her and Alfie kept a safe distance from Amber, and her new friends.

"Yes, so?" Amber asked. Nina stared at the sight, before shaking her head, clearing it in the process.

"Do you know what time it is?" Nina asked

"Uh... No" Amber said

"Six thirty!" Alfie exclaimed. "We've been out for hours looking for you"

"That's an exaggeration" Nina said. "We've been out for maybe... fory minutes"

"You're missing dinner time for me Alfie? How sweet!" Amber said.

"Yes, yes I know, but now that we've found you, we can go and eat a late dinner" Alfie said.

"Maybe later" Amber said. "I'm in the middle of something"

Alfie and Nina stared at her.

"You're busy doing something in the middle of the woods?" Nina asked confused.

"Mhmm" she answered

"With the animals?" Alfie asked for clarification.

"I was in the middle of a conversation" Amber asked.

"A conversation?" Alfie asked

"With the animals?" Nina asked

"And they're very good listeners" Amber said. Alfie and Nina shared a look.

"So, let me get this straight" Nina said. "You can't come back with us because you're busy in the woods having a conversation?"

"With animals?" Nina and Alfie said simultaneously.

Amber felt their judgement hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Yes" she said sharply.

"I think you are in need of food more than I am" Alfie said. Amber glared at him. Neither Nina, nor Alfie caught the angry look.

"Yeah, you say some crazy things, but this may be the craziest" Nina said.

"C'mon Amber let's go" Alfie said holding out his hand. She looked at it, and slapped it away.

"I don't want to go back! I'm comfortable here" Amber yelled. The wind making her hair fly in her face.

"Amber you sound crazy! I think the stress is getting to you" Nina said.

"I'm fine! Just leave me alone!" Amber yelled. Her best friend and her boyfriend looked at her with shock. The animals around her seemed to get angry.

"Ambs-" Alfie started.

"I said, leave me ALONE!" Amber yelled. Almost at once, the animals charged at her friends. Nina and Alfie ran as they were getting nipped and scratched at. Amber stood in shock while she watched what was happening.

"Stop!" She yelled. The animals stopped at once. She ran to her friends to see them muddy and bloody and scratched up with bleeding cuts all over them. She went to touch Nina, but Nina moved back from her.

"What the hell was that?" Nina asked in rage. Amber looked down, unable to answer.

"Did you make them do that?" Alfie asked.

"We need to get you to Trudy" Amber said helping Alfie up. As soon as he was up, he snatched his arm from her.

"What just happened? What was that?" Alfie asked.

"Please, you guys need to go" Amber said.

"I'm not moving until I find out what happened" Nina said.

"Yeah, I second that' Alfie said. Amber knew they weren't going to move, though they needed to.

"I feel a connection with the animals" Amber said. "It's like, I understand them. And they understand me, I think"

"How?" Nina asked

"I don't know, this is the first time something like this has happened. Ok?" Amber said

"What about the attack? Why do I feel like I've gone through a shredder?" Alfie said

"They were protecting me" Amber said

"Well tell the stupid things that I'm your boyfriend!" Alfie yelled at a squirrel. He hissed in return.

"Don't act like this is the strangest thing that's happened today" Amber said. "You should have a stronger connection than me! Especially when you were an animal today!"

"What?" Nina asked

"Nothing" Alfie and Amber said

"What does she mean you were an animal?" Nina asked. They stayed silent. "I'll tell my story if you tell yours"

"You turned into a dog too?" Alfie asked

"I put a guy in a trance. Wait you turned into a dog?" Nina asked

"You put a guy in a trance?" Amber asked

"Wait!" Nina yelled. "Lets just go back to the house before we bleed out, and come back here tomorrow after school. And talk"

"Talk?" Amber asked. Nina nodded.

"About what's happening to us"

"Otay" Amber said

The three of them walked home together.

Eddie groaned over the shampoo in his eyes, which was the least of his problems. He'd found comfort in the water, rather than shying away from it after what happened. The shower was meant to help him sort out his thoughts, but didn't. He had to have been distracted, which is how he ended up with irritated eyes instead of a cleared head.

"What are you whining about?" Patricia questioned from the kitchen doorway as she eyed what he had made for himself despite how he-strangely-had absolutely no appetite.

"I got shampoo in my eyes." He explained lamely, knowing there was no way he could make it sound less silly than it was.

"There are worse things that can happen." She told him. She had a point. Eddie had survived much worse. They all had.

"Yeah, but is there anything more annoying?" He asked, as if challenging her to name something that was while he picked up the sandwich he'd thrown together and watched various fillings fall out onto the cutting board.

Patricia barely had to think on it. "You, for one." She stated. "With your terrible eating habits." After lowering her voice to a whisper, she added: "And how you don't share."

He chuckled. "I knew you were just jealous of my culinary talent." His mocking tone was hardly recognizable since his mouth was full. Patricia somehow understood, but she thought the true talent was in the way Eddie managed not to spray her with food particles.

"Raiding the fridge isn't a talent. But you do it as if it's a competition. Besides, it's disgusting. Just like how you thought I wanted you to show me what you were eating."

As apology, Eddie put the sandwich back down on the cutting board and divided it in half. He handed her to part he hadn't eaten from. Though she saw it as a peace offering, Eddie gave her the bigger half for another reason. He could barely stomach what he'd already eaten.

But the food was easier to swallow than what Patricia told him then. "Thanks." He nodded, not realizing she hadn't finished her thought. "...For... pushing me up."

His perplexed expression morphed into a glare he couldn't hold back when he figured out what she meant. At those words, he felt like he was drowning again. "Why thank me for something that's automatic?"

"I just wanted you to know I appreciate it." She answered flatly.

"It's not like it helped." With that, the person Eddie was directing his anger at suddenly became obvious: himself.

Even if she did go back for him. "I couldn't save you either." Patricia pointed out, losing the little appetite she had.

Part of Eddie wanted to tell her that they were lucky to somehow survive, even though they couldn't save themselves or each other. Another part wanted to tell Patricia that she did save him.

When he opened his mouth, all that came out was laughter. Seeing the appalled look on Patricia's face, he hurried to explain himself. "If I were to hug you right now, you'd look like you've been in a food fight."

Scoffing, she put down her sandwich. He did the same, and they wrapped their arms around each other. Her mumbling angrily at him was the equivalent of other couples' sweet nothings. "You suck for laughing. If you would've just kept fighting me on this, at least something would feel normal."

As they let go, he said: "We were never normal."

"I meant our normal." She clarified, watching him walk away. His still irritated eyes felt as if they hadn't seen daylight. Maybe that's what Eddie needed to think straight again.

His headphones made the aimless walk ahead of him a lot less boring. Metal blaring was a comfort for him, one he could constantly rely on. Music always made sense to him, even when nothing else did.

He wondered if he should even be bothered by what had happened, being the Osirion. He was powerful enough to banish an evil spirit, but he couldn't get rid of the memory of drowning. He found it pathetic. The lingering thought made him forget simple things, like whether he'd signed out before he left the house. Another thing that should've be automatic.

Eddie's breathing became heavy from being so annoyed over the whole situation. He convinced himself that the tears that fell from him eyes were made to flush out that shampoo, because he couldn't let what happened consume him. He refused to let it break him down.

The vibration under his feet shook him from his thoughts. Looking up, he saw another reason to be annoyed with himself. He saw that he was somewhere he didn't belong. In the dead center of a construction site, with a group of men clearly yelling at him to move. Though he couldn't hear them. Not over all the music and machinery.

Two of the men rushed in Eddie's direction, and he took in the look of sheer horror on their faces. Instantly their fear was his, though he had no idea what there was to be afraid of. Everything stopped for a second, and the only thing Eddie was conscience of was the crushing weight he felt on his shoulders. The feeling left as quickly as it came.

Eddie paused his music, and the first sound he heard was a metal beam crashing to the ground. He wasn't sure where it fell from, but he knew where it landed. An inch away from his foot.

The workers silently stared while Eddie tried to get his breath back. He searched for something to say before running back home. One near-death experience had been enough. He was suddenly in need of another hug. "That was close."

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**I just realized this was a musical chapter! With Nina singing, Amber humming, And Eddie's loud music through his headphones! So what are your theories? We would love to hear them!**


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